Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers: Revised Edition
by Dr. Vorlon
Summary: A story about Rika and Henry of course. Now revised and reedited to correct for spelling and grammar mistakes and other little anamolies.
1. Prologue

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Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Prologue  
  
  
  
Once upon a time, there were two tamers. One was named Rika Nonaka; the other was Henry Wong. Rika was the kind of tamer who fought to win, to keep her reputation as the Digimon Queen. She and Renamon would jump at any chance to battle and upload data. She was tough, anti-social, and somewhat lacking in the diplomacy department.  
  
Henry on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite. Quiet and soft-spoken, he refused to let Terriermon fight unless it was absolutely necessary (and sometimes not even then). In his opinion, Digimon were more than just tools for fighting; they were life forms who have as much right to live as anyone else.  
  
With such radically different personalities, it's hard to believe these two tamers could ever become friends. But what's really remarkable is that they were able to become _more_ than just friends.  
  
…And that is what this story is all about.  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED **


	2. Chapter 1

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Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
  
"Brown Stinger!"  
  
"Diamond Storm!"  
  
It was the middle of the night. The weather was clear, yet in one area of the city, a strange patch of fog existed. This fog was a Digital Field and inside it, a battle was raging.  
  
"Come on Renamon! Finish him off!"  
  
Rika Nonaka and her partner Renamon had entered the field to confront the Digimon within. They were constantly looking for new opponents to defeat and upload. For this was one of the ways Digimon became stronger and Rika wanted her Digimon to be the strongest.  
  
"I'm trying Rika, but this is one fly who's determined to swat _us_!"  
  
The Digimon they were facing was Flymon. It wasn't very often that they encountered a Champion Level Digimon of such strength, but Rika was not the kind to step away from a battle just because of an intimidating foe.  
  
"I was hoping we could get through this one without having to resort to cards, but so be it! Digi-Modify! Hyper Speed Activate!"  
  
With the swipe of a card, Renamon's speed increased. Now Flymon would have an extremely fast moving target to try and hit.  
  
"Brown Stinger!"  
  
But no matter how many stingers he fired, Flymon could not hit the more mobile vixen.  
  
_'Now that's more like it,'_ Rika thought to herself.  
  
But just then, things took a turn for the worst. Flymon began beating his wings faster producing an ear-piercing buzzing noise. The buzzing just continued to grow louder and louder, until Rika and Renamon could no longer stand it.  
  
"Aw man!" yelled Rika as she covered her ears. "What is that?"  
  
"Can't… take… it!" cried Renamon. "I hope you're not planning to cut an album!"  
  
"No, but I just might think of cutting you! Ha, ha, ha!"  
  
Flymon moved in, preparing for a final blow. Renamon tried to get up, but the noise was just too much.  
  
"Terrier Tornado!"  
  
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Terriermon appeared and knocked the fly square in his head. This caused Flymon to temporarily lose his concentration and stop buzzing. Rika removed her hands from her ears and turned around to see Henry Wong, another tamer.  
  
"You? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Giving you a window of opportunity, it seems." Henry replied. "If you're going to do something, do it now!"  
  
Rika was irritated by Henry's interference, but didn't have time to complain.  
  
"Renamon… finish it!"  
  
"Diamond Storm!"  
  
With those words, Flymon was no more. He disintegrated into data, which Renamon absorbed. The Digital Field faded away as well. With the battle done, Rika could now speak her mind.  
  
"How many times and how many different ways do I have to tell you guys? Don't interfere with our battles!"  
  
"…You're welcome," muttered Henry.  
  
Rika couldn't think of any way to respond to that, except with a frown. She then turned around and walked off into the night with Renamon close behind.  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. Chapter 2

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Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 2  
  
  
  
In her room, Rika began sorting through her Digimon cards as she always did. Even though playing the card game no longer seemed as fun now that she had a real Digimon, she still collected the cards, mostly to get the modify ones. Renamon stood nearly invisible in the shadows.  
  
"Another good job tonight Renamon," Rika said to her stealthy companion.  
  
"I aim to please," replied Renamon.  
  
"Still need to work on the digivolving though. We almost didn't win that time."  
  
"Yes, I know. It's a good thing that Henry and Terriermon showed up when they did. Otherwise it might have been disastrous."  
  
Rika slammed her cards down onto the table, as if Renamon had just hit some emotional nerve.  
  
"Are you implying that we couldn't handle things on our own?"  
  
"I'm not _implying_ anything Rika; I'm saying it straight out. Sometimes we need a little help. Just like we did tonight."  
  
"Once we've perfected the art of Digivolution, we won't need anybody's help."  
  
"Perhaps you should talk to Henry then. He was the first one to get his Digimon to digivolve, maybe he could give us a few pointers?"  
  
"He's just another obstacle, always getting in the way, slowing me down from achieving my goals! He doesn't even fight for data! Why he became a tamer is beyond me! Who cares about Henry?"  
  
"You should, for one." With that, Renamon vanished into the shadows.  
  
Rika began picking up the scattered cards. As much as she hated to admit it, the fox Digimon might have a point. Their opponents seemed to be getting stronger lately. Before it had been mainly Rookies and Armours, but now they were going up against Champions. Unless she could find a reliable way for Renamon to digivolve soon, they wouldn't stand a chance. And unfortunately, Henry might be the only one who could help.  
  
"Wait a minute, I'm one card short!" Rika quickly counted her cards to see which one was missing.  
  
"My Antylamon promo card! The one I got from the movie! I must have dropped it during the battle! I have to go back for it! That card can't easily be replaced!"  
  
Quickly slipping on her coat, Rika ran for the door. When she opened it, there, standing on the front porch, was Henry.  
  
"Whatever it is, I can't be bothered with it now! I've got another problem to deal with!"  
  
"You mean this?" said Henry, holding up an Antylamon card.  
  
"My card!"  
  
"Yeah, I thought this belonged to you. I figured you might want it back."  
  
"Well you're darn right I want it back!" snapped Rika, plucking the card from Henry's fingers. "If you think I'd let you keep it, you're out of your mind!"  
  
She turned around to go back in, but then stopped, and thought for a moment. Most people probably would've kept the card, but Henry decided to return it. This was perhaps the most decent thing anyone had ever done for Rika. Anyone, who wasn't a family member or fox lady, that is.  
  
_'Oh what the hey,'_ thought Rika. She turned around to Henry who was already on his way out.  
  
"Hey Henry!" Rika called. Henry stopped and looked back.  
  
"What?"  
  
"…Thank you."  
  
Henry smiled and then continued on his way.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  
Meanwhile, inside a twin-towered building, a secret government agency known as Hypnos was busy monitoring the Internet for any Digimon who might bio-emerge.  
  
"I'm picking up a Wild One sir. No indication yet if it's going to bio-emerge, but it looks pretty powerful."  
  
"Keep an eye on it Riley. Let me know if it does anything I don't like," said a man named Yamaki, as he flicked his lighter.  
  
_'They just never learn.'_  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED **


	4. Chapter 3

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Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
  
It was a little past noon. Henry and Terriermon were walking through the park. They finally came up to their destination: a structure that could probably be best described as a concrete shed. Whatever this shed thing had been made for, it had long since been abandoned by the people who made it. These days, it served as the secret hiding place of Guilmon, a reptile Digimon. Henry and Terriermon stepped inside. Sure enough, there was Guilmon, along with his tamer, Takato Matsuki. Takato always came by around this time of day to give Guilmon his food. It was usually just bread from his bakery, but Guilmon didn't seem to care.  
  
"Mmm, yum yum! Good food Takatomon!"  
  
"I thought I told you, it's _Takato_! Not _Takatomon_!"  
  
"Oops! I forgot. Sorry Takatomon."  
  
"I give up!"  
  
Guilmon was a Digimon Takato had created. Therefore, he was still learning things, like the difference between Digimon and tamer. It was pretty funny the way Guilmon kept making that mistake and Henry tried his best not to laugh out of respect. Terriermon, on the other hand, had a little more trouble being tactful with his feelings.  
  
"Heh, heh, heh!"  
  
"Terriermon!" scolded Henry.  
  
"What?"  
  
Takato and Guilmon turned around to notice their two guests.  
  
"Hey, how long have you two been there?" asked Takato.  
  
"Not too long. We just got here," replied Henry.  
  
Terriermon hopped on down from Henry's head to join Guilmon for a little bread. The poor lizard seemed a little embarrassed over his recurring mispronunciations.  
  
"Ah, don't be so hard on yourself," said Terriermon, trying to sound supportive for a change. "After all, on that TV show, Davis couldn't even remember two simple letters!"  
  
"What TV show?"  
  
"The Digimon cartoon, of course!"  
  
"Digimon have a TV show?"  
  
"Well yeah, I thought you knew."  
  
Guilmon shook his head. "I don't get cable in here. By the way… what is cable?"  
  
While Terriermon did his best to describe cable television to a confused Guilmon, Henry was filling Takato in on what had happened the previous night.  
  
"You're kidding! You mean she actually said 'thank you'?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, slow down for a minute! Are we talking about the same Rika here? Rika Nonaka? Red hair, purple eyes, bad attitude?"  
  
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't been there. I know I'm going to sound crazy for saying this, but maybe Rika's not such a bad person after all."  
  
"Don't count on it boys! Make no mistake, I'm bad to the bone!"  
  
The sound of Rika's voice caught everyone by surprise. There was Rika, standing just outside the doorway.  
  
"Well speak of the Devimon!" Terriermon joked. "Ha! I've got a million of them!"  
  
"Rika? How did you know we were here?" inquired Henry.  
  
"Wasn't that hard," said Rika, holding up her digivice. "Obviously you've forgotten that this thing has a compass. I've just never bothered to track you guys down until now."  
  
"If you're here to fight, you can forget it!"  
  
"As much as I'd enjoy pummelling your Digimon, that's not why I'm here. I came to talk."  
  
"Alright then, talk."  
  
"Not here. I'd rather discuss this somewhere more private. What I have to say is between you and me Henry, and not the rest of your misfit posse!"  
  
Henry thought for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and went off with Rika. The others were all in total surprise.  
  
"What was _that_ all about?" asked Takato.  
  
"I don't know," said Terriermon. "Maybe she prefers the Wong, silent type. Ha! I've got 999, 999 of them!"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  
Meanwhile, in the Hypnos building, Riley and Tally were continuing to monitor the Internet.  
  
"Sir, I'm picking up a reading. It looks like that Wild One we've been tracking is about to bio-emerge!"  
  
"You know what to do," answered Yamaki. "Activate Yuggoth program."  
  
"Yuggoth activated. …No affect sir. Wild One will bio-emerge in less than ten minutes!"  
**  
TO BE CONTINUED**


	5. Chapter 4

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Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
  
Henry and Rika finally sat down on a park bench. Henry waited for almost two minutes for Rika to explain why she had brought him there but she seemed somewhat reluctant. Finally, Henry decided to break the silence himself.  
  
"Well you said you wanted to talk, so talk."  
  
"Hold your horses, will ya? I'm trying to think of how I'm gonna to put this."  
  
"Put what?"  
  
"I said hold your horses!"  
  
"Look Rika, I'm not going to sit here all day waiting for you say what you're going to say. So maybe you should just call me when you've figured out how you're going to put it, whatever 'it' is."  
  
With that, Henry got up and began to walk away.  
  
"Wait! Come back! All right, all right, I'll say it. It's just really embarrassing."  
  
"Embarrassing? What's embarrassing?" asked Henry, who was sitting back down.  
  
"I'm having problems… getting Renamon to digivolve."  
  
Henry nodded his head in understanding. After all, Rika was considered by most to be the best tamer around. It would be rather humiliating for the Digimon Queen to admit that she can't even get her own Digimon to digivolve.  
  
"Well I sympathise with your problem, but why are you telling me this?"  
  
"Because I'm hoping that you can help me figure out what I'm doing wrong."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yeah you. You were able to get your little Digimon to digivolve before any of us could. Obviously, you know something I don't."  
  
"So you think I've got some secret trick or something?"  
  
"Well, don't you?"  
  
"No, not really. The first time Terriermon digivolved, I wasn't even trying to get him to digivolve. It just seemed to happen spontaneously. Now whenever I want him to become Gargomon—which isn't very often—I use this." Henry whipped out of his pocket a Digivolution card.  
  
"Yeah I have the same card, but it doesn't work when I use it."  
  
"Well I don't know what to say about that. Except… do you believe in Renamon?"  
  
"What is _that_ suppose to mean?"  
  
"The only other thing I can think of is that you need to believe in your Digimon and have faith in them in order for the cards to work."  
  
"That sounds so cheesy, like something from that Digimon cartoon!"  
  
"Don't tell me you losers actually watch dat god-awful show!"  
  
Rika and Henry looked up. Sitting on a tree branch above them was Impmon, trouble-maker and all around pain in the caboose.  
  
"Dat show is da most demeanin' depiction of Digimon I've ever seen! Especially dat Veemon! He had da most annoyin' voice! It bothered me."  
  
"What do you want, as if I cared?" snapped Rika.  
  
"Ah nothin'. Just wonderin' what you two love boids were up to."  
  
"Love Birds?" Rika's face went red with rage. Or was it embarrassment? "Now let's get one thing straight Impface: Rika Nonaka doesn't get all mushy over any boy!"  
  
"Suuuuure, whatever you say! Ha, ha!"  
  
"She just called me here to talk business, that's all," said Henry.  
  
"Well ain't ya ever hoid of mixin' business with pleasure?"  
  
"How did we even get pulled into this ridiculous conversation?" grumbled Rika.  
  
"Our first mistake was acknowledging his existence; we should've just ignored him."  
  
"Oh yeah? Well ignore dis! Bada Boom!"  
  
Impmon fired a tiny ball of fire at the two tamers. However, the flaming projectile never reached its target, as it was deflected by the unexpected appearance of Renamon.  
  
"Wha? Oh, it's you toots. Well thanks a lot fer spoilin' my fun! I thought you would've smartened up by now an' realised how pathetic it is bein' partners with a human!"  
  
"Happy to disappoint you," replied Renamon.  
  
"Renamon, have you been spying on us?" asked Rika. It was bad enough having Impmon sticking his nose into their business, but if Renamon…  
  
"Of course not Rika, you know I would never invade your privacy. I just got here. I sensed that something was coming."  
  
"Well it looks like you were right," said Henry pointing. "Look!"  
  
In the distance, they could see a massive Digital Field appearing.  
  
"Looks like it's ShowTime Renamon," Rika said to her partner. "Exit stage left!"  
  
Rika and Renamon took off towards the Field. Henry realised that Takato and the others had probably seen it as well. Terriermon would instinctively want to fight. Henry knew he would have to be there to help his friend, so he followed after Rika. This left poor Impmon all alone.  
  
"Howdaya like dat? Even da fog gets more attention den me! Oy!"  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	6. Chapter 5

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Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 5  
  
  
  
Rika slipped on her shades just before entering the Digital Field. Already in the Field was Takato with Guilmon, and Terriermon. Henry came in seconds later, almost out of breath.  
  
"Terriermon… why… am… I… not… surprised to… see you here?" panted Henry.  
  
"Well we're here," said Rika, "so where's the Digimon? Don't tell me you already beat him, Gogglehead!"  
  
"Me? No actually, we haven't seen the Digimon yet."  
  
"That's odd," observed Henry. "Why would a Digital Field appear with no Digimon?"  
  
"But there _is_ a Digimon here!" said Guilmon. "I can smell it!"  
  
Just then, a strange wind began to blow. In the ground, a footprint appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Terriermon started trembling with fear, like he'd never trembled with fear before.  
  
"Oh no… Not him!"  
  
Suddenly, a huge and hairy Digimon became visible. At that moment, Henry knew why Terriermon was so disturbed.  
  
"It's Endigomon!" shouted Henry, as he held up his digivice, activating the encyclopedia. "A Champion level Virus Digimon. His attacks are Howling Destroyer and…"  
  
"Long Arm Grabbing!" roared Endigomon, as his arm outstretched towards Rika. Fortunately, Renamon once again arrived at the crucial moment and deflected the attack with a well-timed kick.  
  
"I always know how to make an entrance."  
  
"Let him have it Renamon!"  
  
"He'll have it and keep it! Diamond Storm!"  
  
Endigomon was momentarily blinded by Renamon's barrage, but quickly retaliated.  
  
"Howling Destroyer!"  
  
"Pyro Sphere!"  
  
Guilmon's intervention deflected the blast into a nearby tree, which disintegrated. Clearly, Endigomon did not like interference. He began lumbering towards Guilmon.  
  
"Uh oh."  
  
"Don't worry Guilmon, we're ready for him! Digi-Modify! Hyper Wings activate!"  
  
With the swipe of a card, Guilmon sprouted six glowing wings. He flew up into the air, avoiding what would have been a nasty whack on the head.  
  
"Ha, ha, missed me!"  
  
"Yeah! Do it Guilmon!"  
  
"Pyro Sphere!"  
  
Guilmon fired at Endigomon's feet, giving him the hot foot. This caused the lumbering beast to lose his balance and fall down.  
  
"Alright Renamon," said Rika, "this is our chance! Finish him off!"  
  
"Diamond…"  
  
"Waiiit!" cried Henry. "Don't do it! You can't destroy him!"  
  
"Oh yeah? Give us one good reason why not!"  
  
"Because," said Terriermon, "he's my brother."  
  
Meanwhile, Endigomon got back up on his feet. The strange wind began to blow and Endigomon faded from site.  
  
"Rika... You cannot escape us."  
  
The whole Digital Field vanished as well. Everyone was left in a state of confusion.  
  
"Where'd he go?" asked Takato.  
  
"I don't know," replied Henry. "We didn't destroy him, so there's no reason why he or the Digital Field should just disappear. None of this makes any sense."  
  
"All I know," snarled Rika, "is that Renamon and I had a chance to download a really strong Digimon and you stopped us! Thanks a lot!"  
  
With that, Rika stormed off with Renamon following behind.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  
Meanwhile, over at Hypnos, Riley and Tally were tracking the whole thing.  
  
"Sir, these readings are very odd. It shows that the anomaly has disappeared, yet the Digimon that was inside is still intact."  
  
"Present location?"  
  
"Difficult to pinpoint, sir. Looks like it's returned to the Digital World."  
  
_'For now at least,'_ Yamaki thought to himself. _'If this means what I think it means, then we're going to have to result to more drastic measures.'  
_  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	7. Chapter 6

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Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 6  
  
  
  
It was 7:00am. Henry was still fast asleep. Since it was a Saturday, he could sleep in. His little sister Suzie, on the other hand, was already up and sneaking into her brother's room. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for.  
  
"Dere you are, Tewwiermon!"  
  
Terriermon froze. He knew what she was going to do to him, but he couldn't move. As far as Suzie knew, Terriermon was just a stuffed toy. He had to keep up that illusion, in spite of what was to come.  
  
"I've been wooking all over for you! We're gonna pway 'doctor'!"  
  
_'Doctor?'_ thought Terriermon. _'I must've been really bad in a previous life to deserve this!'_  
  
Suzie dragged poor Terriermon out of the room by his ears. His ears were probably the most sensitive part of his body, but of course, Terriermon could not cry out in pain, lest he blow his cover. She brought Terriermon to her room and pulled out what she called her 'doctor's kit'; it looked more like a toolbox.  
  
"I was thinking we would start by testing your 'wee-fwexes'," said Suzie, as she reached into her doctor's kit, pulling out a toy hammer. Terriermon did _not_ like where this was going.  
  
_'This can't be happening!_' Terriermon thought. _'Where's a Digital Field when you need one?'_  
  
"But first," continued Suzie, "you wook a wittle pale. You might be coming down with something! I'd better take your tempwature!"  
_  
'What is she talking about? I always look pale! It's my natural colour! It's when I_ don't_ look pale that you should worry!'_  
  
Suzie whipped out a toy thermometer. Just then, the phone rang.  
_  
'Saved by the bell.'_  
  
"I'll get it!" Suzie shoved the thermometer in Terriermon's mouth and ran to the phone. Losing balance, Terriermon fell down on his back. This caused him to accidentally swallow the thermometer.  
  
"Oh great. Well, at least my temperature is down. I hope she doesn't decide to play 'surgery'!"  
  
"Henwy!" yelled Suzie. "It's for you!"  
  
Henry managed to yank himself out of bed. Still half-asleep, he shuffled into the living room, where his sister held the receiver.  
  
"Ugh. What does Takato want at this hour?" muttered Henry.  
  
"It's not Takato," said Suzie. "It's some angwy girl."  
  
"_Angwy girl_? I mean, _angry girl_?" Henry's brain suddenly snapped into full gear. He took the phone from Suzie, who returned to check up on her patient.  
  
"Hello, Rika?"  
  
"Yeah, how'd you know it was me?"  
  
"Call it a lucky guess. How did you get a hold of my number?"  
  
"From Takato. I threatened to use him as a punching bag if he didn't tell me."  
  
"Man, whoever said you can attract more flies with honey than vinegar obviously never met you Rika. So why did you call me?"  
  
"I... I wanted to say that I'm… sorry for blowing up in your face like that the other day."  
  
"Uhhh, I must still be half-asleep. For a minute there, I thought you were apologising."  
  
"I am."  
  
"…You're serious, aren't you?"  
  
"Hey, I didn't have to do this! If you're just going to make fun."  
  
"No, no, wait! I didn't mean... Look, you've caught me at my worst. I'm not in the best frame of mind at seven in the morning. Maybe we could discuss this at a later time. Say... in an hour?"  
  
Rika sighed. "Alright. You can come down to my place, but I won't wait forever."  
  
"I don't think you'd live forever anyway."  
  
Henry hung up and decided that he'd better get washed and dressed. He was in such a hurry that he didn't notice Suzie giving Terriermon the Heimlich Maneuver.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  
Meanwhile, over at Hypnos, Yamaki was just finishing briefing Riley and Tally on the mission that lay ahead of them.  
  
"So as you can see, there's no other alternative. The fate of the entire world may very well depend on what we do within the next twenty-four hours. There's a chance that none of us will come out of this alive. So if either of you want to back out, this is your only chance to do so. No questions will be asked."  
  
Riley didn't say a single word. She had already sacrificed most of her personal life when she signed up for this job. She was prepared to follow Yamaki's lead, wherever that may take them. Tally seemed a bit more uncertain than Riley, but she didn't bother to say anything either. They were both in.  
  
"Then man your posts. We need to know where and when that anomaly will appear next. Every second here counts."  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	8. Chapter 7

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 7  
  
  
  
So there was Henry, riding his bike to Rika's house with Terriermon flopped over his head. Henry had managed to free Terriermon from Suzie's clutches.  
  
"Thanks for taking me along Henry. 'Doctor' is the only game that's more painful than 'Pwincess Pwetty Pants'."  
  
"Hey, she _did_ give you a clean bill of health!"  
  
Eventually, the duo made it to Rika's. Henry rang the doorbell and after a few minutes of waiting, Rika opened the door a crack to see whom it was.  
  
"I'd almost given up hope of you coming," said Rika. "I _do_ have other things I could be doing you know."  
  
"I know I'm a little late, but I had to save Terriermon from a fate worse than 'Pwetty Pants'."  
  
"What's that suppose to mean?"  
  
"Never mind. It would take too long to explain and you wanted to talk about something else."  
  
Rika opened the door all the way and let them in. From the look of it, nobody else was home. She actually led them out to the backyard before beginning to speak.  
  
"Anyway, like I was saying over the phone, I'm… sorry about the other day. I know you had your reasons for not wanting us to destroy Endigomon."  
  
"Yeah, I'd say being my twin brother is a pretty good reason not to destroy him!" replied Terriermon.  
  
"Terriermon!" scolded Henry.  
  
"What?" questioned Terriermon.  
  
"Seriously though Rika, I appreciate the apology but it wasn't really necessary. I understand."  
  
"No, actually it is necessary," Rika began to say. "You see…"  
  
Rika stopped in the middle of her sentence and looked down at Terriermon.  
  
"What? Do I have something in my teeth?"  
  
"If you don't mind Bunny-dog," said Rika, "I'd like to talk to Henry alone."  
  
Terriermon looked up at Henry. Henry nodded and Terriermon wandered off to the side of the house, where he couldn't see or hear them.  
  
"Alright, it's just you and me now," said Henry to Rika. "So what is it that you can't say in front of my partner? Is this about digivolving again?"  
  
"No, this has nothing to do with digivolving!" snapped Rika, who then realised the tone of her voice and settled down. "This is about you."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yes. Or to be more precise, the way I've treated you. In the short time we've known each other, I haven't exactly been the nicest person to you."  
  
"Well, you'll get no argument from me on that."  
  
"And yet, you've always managed to tolerate me. In fact, you've even been kind to me, bringing me back my lost card. Look, the point I'm trying to get at here is that… you're an okay guy, if you know what I mean. That is… I like you well enough to be a friend. A good friend. Of course, we don't have to go blabbing it to the world, understand?"  
  
Henry understood. It was all starting to make sense to him. Rika was beginning to warm up to him, yet she was concerned about her image. She didn't want to appear soft in front of anyone. No wonder she only wanted to speak to him alone.  
  
"My lips are sealed," Henry said. "And by the way… you're an 'okay' girl, if you know what I mean."  
  
Rika actually managed to smile at that. However, it was to be a short-lived smile because at that moment, the pond in Rika's backyard began to form a whirlpool. Strange fog began blowing out of that whirlpool, and before either of them knew what was happening, a Digital Field was upon them.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  
Meanwhile, over at Hypnos…  
  
"Sir, the anomaly has reappeared!"  
  
"Then this is it! Both of you, into the helicopter now! If that field disappears before we get there, we'll have missed our one chance!"  
  
Riley and Tally jumped down from their stations and quickly followed Yamaki to the chopper pad.  
  
_'So those data trashes think they can take over our world, do they?'_ thought Yamaki. _'Well not if I have anything to say about it! Hypnos is going to teach them a lesson they won't soon forget!'  
_  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	9. Chapter 8

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 8  
  
  
  
"Looks like we've got trouble Henry!"  
  
Terriermon came running in from the side of the house to Henry. He stood by the side of his tamer. Renamon also appeared beside Rika, using her usual out-of-nowhere stealth style.  
  
"Wow! This is incredible!" exclaimed Henry with awe. "I've never had a Digital field appear on top of me before, have you?"  
  
"No," answered Rika. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me."  
  
Just then, both of their digivices began beeping like crazy.  
  
"Looks like we've got company!" Henry said.  
  
"There's a Digimon coming right this way! Renamon, assume the position!"  
  
Renamon stood in an attack posture; ready to take on whatever is was that was coming. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the mist.  
  
"Tra, la, la, la, la! Tra, la, la, la, la! Hey guys, wanna play?"  
  
"Aw, it's only Calumon. You can un-assume the position Renamon."  
  
Renamon didn't need to be told _that_. After all, everyone knew Calumon wasn't a threat. Annoyingly weird maybe, but not dangerous.  
  
"Wait a minute," pondered Henry, "if that's Calumon, then where's the Digimon that's suppose to come with this field?"  
  
At that moment, an eerie wind started to blow. A huge footprint appeared in the ground.  
  
"Oh no!" cried Terriermon. "He's back!"  
  
Endigomon made himself visible. He gave Terriermon a bit of a glance, then turned towards Rika.  
  
"Rikaaa..."  
  
"What… what do you want with me?" asked Rika.  
  
"Maybe he want's to play!" chimed Calumon, as the triangle on his head lit up. At that same time, Endigomon began to glow red. The glow got brighter and brighter until everyone had to shield their eyes. When the glow finally dimmed, Endigomon's whole body had changed to a different form.  
  
"He digivolved!" exclaimed Rika. Rika reached into her card pouch and pulled out the card that Henry had returned to her before. Sure enough, it was the same Digimon.  
  
"I am Antylamon," the new Digimon whispered. "This is a holy time." Antylamon reached over with his long and large hand and grabbed Rika.  
  
"Rika!" cried Renamon  
  
"Hey! Get your filthy paws off of me!" yelled Rika, trying to fight her way free. Antylamon began to disappear, taking Rika with him.  
  
"Hold on Rika!" Renamon cried, as she followed after them, disappearing into the distortion.  
  
"Not good, this is not good Terriermon!" said Henry.  
  
"I guess it's up to us to follow them, huh?" Terriermon asked. The two of them ran into the distortion, disappearing.  
  
"Wait! Come back!" whined Calumon. "Ohhhh, why doesn't anybody want to play with me?"  
  
Calumon followed after everyone into the distortion, and also disappeared.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Not high above the Digital Field, a Hypnos helicopter was circling. Tally was at the chopper controls, while Riley and Yamaki sat in the back.  
  
"There it is sir. The anomaly does appear to be expanding, just like you predicted."  
  
"Then we have no time to lose," said Yamaki. "Remember: you're to hit the detonate button in one hour, even if we're not back before then."  
  
"I understand sir. Good luck." Tally hit a button, which began to lower Yamaki, Riley, and a very large bomb down to the Digital Field.  
  
"This is it Riley," said Yamaki, "we're going in."  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	10. Chapter 9

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 9  
  
  
  
Henry slowly opened his eyes. He found himself floating in a void, surrounded by letters and numbers. Terriermon was right there next to him. He'd been nudging at Henry, trying to get him to wake up.  
  
"Terriermon? What… is this place?"  
  
"I don't know. It kinda looks like a calculator threw up!"  
  
"I wonder, could this be the Digital World?"  
  
"Well it sure ain't Oz!"  
  
The next thing they knew, Henry and Terriermon found themselves standing in the middle of what appeared to be a desert. Henry stared up into the sky. It was covered with a thick fog. Henry then looked around him. He was surrounded by fog. Yet, the fog seemed to be expanding outwards. As it did, more and more of the desert became visible.  
  
"It's like we're still in the Digital Field," observed Henry, "only it's getting bigger. I don't like the looks of this Terriermon. I don't like the looks of this one bit!"  
  
Just then, Henry's digivice began beeping like crazy. He pulled it out of his pocket to take a look.  
  
"It's the compass," said Henry. "It's pointing in the direction straight ahead. I wonder what's over there?"  
  
"Maybe it's pointing to that castle!" suggested Terriermon.  
  
"Castle? What castle?"  
  
Henry looked ahead. As the digital fog continued to move away, a huge castle became visible.  
  
"Oh, _that_ castle."  
  
Henry's digivice beeped again. The compass displayed an image of Rika's face.  
  
"Hmm. Well I guess that means Rika is in the castle. I didn't know this thing could track humans as well. Come on Terriermon, we've got a castle to storm!"  
  
"I'm right behind ya chief!"  
  
And so, the two heroes proceeded quickly on foot towards the target of their destination.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  
Not far away, two other figures were busy with a mission of their own. Yamaki and Riley had just finished locking down the large piece of machinery to the ground. Riley entered in a code and a green light began flashing.  
  
"Yuggoth bomb is armed and ready sir," said Riley. "And we got it done with 45 minutes to spare!"  
  
"Excellent. All we have to do now is make sure we're clear of the fog barrier when this thing goes off. Looks like we're going live to enjoy our first real victory against these digital terrors after all."  
  
Yamaki looked over at Riley. The expression on her face suggested that she wanted to say something.  
  
"Go on Riley, spit it out."  
  
"Well sir, I was just thinking that maybe later tonight, if you weren't doing anything else, that we could perhaps 'celebrate' this victory together?"  
  
"Hmm, an interesting proposition Riley. We've both worked long and hard protecting the world from the scum of the Net. I suppose that a little 'celebrating' would be appropriate. After all…"  
  
But before he could finish, Yamaki caught something out of the corner of his eye: two figures moving very quickly. He removed his shades to get a better look.  
  
"What? That's Wong's kid! What's he doing here?"  
  
"I don't know sir, but he'd better not stay here for too long. Otherwise, he'll be deleted as well!"  
  
"Stay here with the bomb. I'll take care of this myself!"  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	11. Chapter 10

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 10  
  
  
  
Henry and Terriermon had to stop and catch their breath for a minute. The castle, it seems, was a lot further than they had anticipated.  
  
"Man… at this rate, it's gonna take us forever to get there, Terriermon!"  
  
"Times like these I wish I _did_ wear shoes. My feet are killing me!"  
  
"Hey wait a minute! You could probably move a lot faster if you digivolved!"  
  
So Henry pulled out his digivice, and he pulled out a Digivolvution card. He prepared to assume the traditional card swipe pose. But then…  
  
"Well, well. Fancy meeting you out here. A boy your age shouldn't be wandering around strange dimensions without an adult escort."  
  
Henry turned around. There, standing behind him, was Yamaki.  
  
"You? What are you doing here?" asked Henry in surprise.  
  
"I was just about to ask you the same question," Yamaki replied.  
  
"No fair," said Terriermon, "Henry asked first!"  
  
"I'm saving the world," said Yamaki, who directed his answer to Henry instead of Terriermon. "Do you even realise what is happening here? The Digital World is trying to take over the real world! It's expanding into our dimension! Eventually, there won't be anything left of the Earth that's recognisable! Fortunately, I've come to save the day."  
  
"How?" asked Henry, though something told him he wasn't going to like the answer.  
  
"By using a little something I call the 'Yuggoth Bomb'. In less than 40 minutes that bomb will detonate. And when it does, everything within this anomaly will be deleted, disintegrated, and otherwise annihilated! Thus, the gateway to the Digital World will be sealed, courtesy of Hypnos."  
  
"Well, what about us?" Henry asked, now knowing for certain that he didn't like where this conversation was going.  
  
"Like I said,_ everything _within the anomaly will be eradicated—including us! That's why we must make sure we're outside of the anomaly when Yuggoth does her job. Now let's go!"  
  
"Wait! I can't leave now! A friend of mine is inside that castle. I have to get her out now!"  
  
"I'm afraid we can't do that. By the time you get to that castle, it'll be too late. The bomb will go off before you can get out."  
  
"But we can't just leave her there!"  
  
"Then perhaps you both should've thought about that before you decided to play with these dangerous creatures. I warned you that associating with Digimon would get you into trouble. Now it's cost your friend her life. Let this be a lesson to you. Now come on! We have to go!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"That wasn't a request!"  
  
Yamaki grabbed Henry by the arm and started to pull.  
  
"Let go!"  
  
"Hey you leave my friend alone!" shouted Terriermon, who leaped up and bit Yamaki's hand.  
  
"Rrgh! You filthy waste of pixels!" Infuriated, Yamaki pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Terriermon.  
  
"Hey! Don't shoot him!" cried Henry.  
  
"Stay out of this! I was just going to let you stay here and be wiped out with the rest of your monster buddies! But instead, I'm going to dispose of you the old fashion way!"  
  
"Oh no you won't!" said Henry, swiping his card through the digivice. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!"  
  
**'Digivolution'  
**  
"Terriermon digivolve to... Gargomon!"  
  
Yamaki was completely unprepared for this. The sight of the little bunny Digimon doubling in size to a giant rabbit man with cannons for arms was a bit more than just a shock for him.  
  
"You call that a gun?" said Gargomon, raising his cannon arms. "_These_ are guns! Now you have to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well? Do ya?"  
  
"I think you'd be smart to put the gun away, Yamaki," suggested Henry. Yamaki didn't like being at a disadvantage, but he complied nonetheless.  
  
"Hop on Henry," said Gargomon. "I'll give you a 'Gargo back' ride to the castle!"  
  
Henry climbed up onto Gargomon's back.  
  
"You're making a mistake boy. Trusting your life to this monster will be your doom!"  
  
"I've found some of these 'monsters' to be more human to you," said Henry. "Of course, I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand."  
  
With those words, Gargomon took off at amazing Gargomon speed, leaving Yamaki with a very big decision to make.  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	12. Chapter 11

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 11  
  
  
  
Rika slowly began to open her eyes. She awoke to find herself lying in a bed, though it wasn't her bed. The whole room looked like something out of a fairy tale. Rika got out of the bed, and noticed that her clothes had changed. She was now dressed in a pink, princess-like gown.  
  
"Great. I can't wait to hear the explanation for this one!"  
  
Just then, Antylamon entered the room.  
  
"Ah, Your Majesty. I see you have finally awaken," Antylamon said.  
  
"What do you mean 'Your Majesty'? Just what the heck is going on here?"  
  
"I am Antylamon. This is a holy time—the time when we finally take control of both worlds. Your dimension, as you know it, will soon be absorbed by ours. Digimon will control all reality, and you Rika, will be our queen."  
  
"...Excuse me?"  
  
"That's what you've always wanted, isn't it—to be the Digimon Queen? Well now you are! See how I've created for you this wonderful castle and a wardrobe fit for a queen."  
  
"For your information, I happen to hate wearing dresses!"  
  
"As you wish." Antylamon waved his hand and Rika was magically back in her regular attire.  
  
"Let me guess… you want me to become your tamer? Yeah, I've heard this story before."  
  
"My lady, you will be the Digimon Queen. _Every_ Digimon will be yours to command!"  
  
With that, the lights in the room grew dimmer. Three bright windows appeared out of nowhere, formed in a half-circle shape. Inside these windows, the silhouettes of many different Digimon became visible. She could hear them all calling to her, asking her to make them stronger. Rika remembered seeing this before. It was just like that time she first met Renamon.  
  
"You are a tamer who demands strength and victory," Antylamon continued, "thus you are the perfect person to lead us!"  
  
"No! I don't want to be a queen!" Rika protested. "I said it before: I only need one Digimon!"  
  
"Oh, you mean Renamon? Yes, she's here too." Antylamon waved his hand again. One of the walls opened up, revealing a chained and half-unconscious Renamon.  
  
"Ri-ka..."  
  
"Renamon! What have you done to her?"  
  
"You should be more concerned of what I _will _do to her if you don't agree to be queen! Earth is going to fall and you will give us all the strength we need to destroy the human race! Am I making myself clear?"  
  
Suddenly, the door was blasted open. There, with cannons armed and loaded, was Gargomon.  
  
"Clear as mud!" Gargomon said, as he took aim and fired.  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	13. Chapter 12

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 12  
  
  
  
"Ha! You missed!" Antylamon laughed.  
  
"Did I?" said Gargomon. Antylamon looked behind him and noticed that Gargomon had actually been aiming at Renamon's chains. Renamon was now free.  
  
"Blast! You've released my bargaining chip!" Antylamon growled.  
  
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to everyone else, but knownst to us, Calumon was watching from a nearby window. He watched as Rika went to aid her Digimon companion.  
  
_'Game over?'_ Calumon thought.  
  
"Rika... Gargomon can't take on an Ultimate alone. You must help me to digivolve."  
  
"But how? My Digivolution card just doesn't seem to work for me!"  
  
"It _will_ work… if you believe in me."  
  
Rika looked over at Gargomon. He was holding his own against Antylamon, but not for very long. So Rika reached into her card pouch and pulled out her Digivolution card.  
  
'I know this can work. Please let Renamon digivolve so she can defeat Antylamon,' Rika thought to herself. As she did, the card began glowing a bright blue glow. This glow caught Antylamon's attention.  
  
"Well, well, well. What have we here?"  
  
"Here we go!" said Calumon, as the triangle on his head began to glow as well.  
  
"Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!"  
  
**'Digivolution'**  
  
"Renamon digivolve to… Kyubimon!"  
  
"I did it," said an amazed Rika. "_We_ did it! Alright Kyubimon, go kick some giant rabbit's tail!"  
  
"The pleasure will be all mine. Fox Tail inferno!" This sudden intervention from Kyubimon gave Gargomon the breathing room he needed.  
  
"Yeah! Now that's more like it! Gargo Laser!"  
  
"Rrgh! Two Champions against one Ultimate! How dare you level the playing field!"  
  
Meanwhile, Henry managed to sneak in and get to Rika.  
  
"Rika! Are you okay?"  
  
"Henry!" For a moment, Rika actually sounded happy to see Henry. "Yeah, of course I'm fine. What, you didn't think I could handle things on my own?"  
  
"Oh I knew you'd handle yourself fine," said Henry, respecting Rika's pride, "I just figured you might like some extra backup. You know, just in case 'fine' wasn't enough."  
  
"Well, I suppose a little backup was a good idea. After all... sometimes me and Renamon need a little help," Rika said with a smile.  
  
"Hey you! Stay away from my political puppet!" roared Antylamon. The giant rabbit managed to break free from Kyubimon and Gargomon, grabbed Henry, and flung him right at the open window, where Calumon no longer seemed to be.  
  
"Henry!" cried Rika. Henry managed to grab the edge of the window, but his fingers were slipping fast.  
  
"A little help here guys!" Henry shouted. Unfortunately, the last of his fingers gave way and he was about to fall.  
**  
TO BE CONTINUED**


	14. Chapter 13

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 13  
  
  
  
Suddenly, just as Henry thought he was about to meet his maker, a hand quickly reached down and grabbed his. It took Henry a brief second to realise he'd just been saved. The hand began to pull him up. Taking a good look, Henry noticed that the sleeve on the arm was that of a black business suit.  
  
'No, it couldn't be. Could it?' Henry thought to himself. As he finally got pulled back inside, Henry discovered that his suspicion was correct; his saviour was Yamaki.  
  
"You? Uhhh, not that I'm ungrateful or anything but why did you come?"  
  
"Perhaps I'm not the monster you thought I am," Yamaki replied, cracking an almost decent smile.  
  
"More humans!" Antylamon snarled. "You will all die!"  
  
"I think not," Yamaki said with confidence. "Now Riley!"  
  
Before anyone could react, Riley busted in and threw a grenade at Antylamon. The grenade released a huge plume of smoke, blinding the rabbit Ultimate.  
  
"Now's our chance! Let's go!" Yamaki and Riley began leading Henry and Rika out of the room. They began proceeding down the stairs to the exit.  
  
"I thought you said there wasn't going to be enough time for a rescue?" Henry asked.  
  
"I managed to contact Tally and asked her to give us an extension," Yamaki replied.  
  
"Hey aren't we forgetting someone people?" interrupted Rika. "Kyubimon and Gargomon!"  
  
"That's right!" realised Henry. "They're still up there! We have to go back for them!"  
  
"Look kid," Yamaki said, "the extension I got wasn't much. It's just enough time for us to get out of here and reach the barrier. I already risked my life once trying to save your lives, I'm not going to risk it again just to save data!"  
  
Before Henry could retort with a 'They're more than just data,' speech, the ceiling blew open. Debris and rocks came tumbling down, a huge chunk of which landed right on top of Yamaki.  
  
"Yamaki!!!!" screamed Riley, who immediately rushed to his aide. "Yamaki, are you okay?"  
  
"Rrgh… My legs are… pinned down." grunted Yamaki. "I think they might be… broken."  
  
Through the hole in the ceiling, Antylamon leaped down. The expression on his face suggested that he was really, extremely pissed off.  
  
"You should not have done that!" roared Antylamon. "Royal Rule Number One: NO SMOKING IN THE CASTLE!"  
  
Antylamon raised his arm in preparation to strike when suddenly, his arm was pelted by blue fire balls from above. The rabbit Deva looked up to see…  
  
"Kyubimon!" cried Rika. Kyubimon jumped down from the hole followed by…  
  
"Gargomon!" cried Henry. The two Champions surrounded the Ultimate.  
  
"You wouldn't attack your own brother now, would you?" asked Antylamon, rubbing his still sore arm.  
  
"Sorry bub," said Gargomon "Just call me an orphan! Gargo Laser!"  
  
"Dragon Wheel!"  
  
The attacks were directed at Antylamon's legs. Crippled and incapacitated, the Deva fell to the floor.  
  
"Whoa Gargomon, don't you think you were a little ruff there?" asked Henry.  
  
"Well he started it!"  
  
Suddenly, an incredibly loud explosion was heard in the distance. The entire castle began to shake, as if it were about to collapse.  
  
"What is this?" snarled Antylamon. "What is going on?"  
  
"Your government tax dollars at work," Yamaki said, with a not-so-decent smile.  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	15. Chapter 14

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 14  
  
  
  
"What have you done?" wailed Antylamon, as the whole castle began crumbing around them.  
  
"It's my Yuggoth bomb," said Yamaki. "Your little attempt to take over our world is about to end!"  
  
"Fool! You'll be destroyed as well!"  
  
"I knew there was a chance I wouldn't be coming back from this alive. As long as the Earth's safe, that's all that matters."  
  
"Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!" Antylamon howled with the agony of defeat. As he did, a huge chunk of the ceiling came loose and fell on him. With one swift 'crunch!' Antylamon was reduced to data.  
  
"Quick Gargomon, we have to get this rock off of Yamaki!" Henry shouted. Gargomon began pushing, but the rock wouldn't budge.  
  
"Well what are you waiting for? Help him Kyubimon!" ordered Rika. Kyubimon and Gargomon both pushed as hard as they could. They pushed so hard that they actually ended up de-digivolving back to their Rookie forms. Still the rock wouldn't budge.  
  
"It's no use," sighed Yamaki. "This is the end for me."  
  
"We're not just going to leave you here!" protested Henry.  
  
"Even if you could get me free, my legs are broken. It'll slow you down trying to carry me and time is running out. Now go! If you hurry you might still have a chance of reaching the barrier before total destruction!"  
  
"But…"  
  
"Go!!!"  
  
Reluctantly, Henry and Rika began to move away. Terriermon and Renamon followed behind. Riley, however, did not move.  
  
"That includes you too Riley!" Yamaki said. "Get out of here while you have a chance!"  
  
But Riley did not leave. Instead, she began moving closer to Yamaki as opposed to away.  
  
"What is she doing?" asked Rika. "Is she crazy?"  
  
"No Rika," said Renamon, "…she's in love."  
  
Riley bent down on her knees. Her eyes were totally locked on Yamaki's, even though his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses.  
  
"Riley, get out of here!" yelled Yamaki. "That's an order!"  
  
"I'm sorry sir," said Riley as she put her hand on his, "but I'm afraid that this is one time I'm going to have to disobey orders. I'm not going to let you die alone."  
  
Yamaki wanted to argue, but it was becoming clear to him that nothing he said was going to convince her to leave. He reached up and removed his sunglasses, as if he wanted to have one clear, undistorted image of Riley to carry with him into the next life. Unfortunately, as the castle began to crumble further, the dust levels rose and the image became foggy. Soon, even Henry and the others could barely see Riley or Yamaki.  
  
"Hey guys," said Terrriermon, now growing anxious. "I hate to interrupt this Hallmark moment, but this place is going to Hell in a recycle bin! We'd better move!"  
  
The others knew he was right. They quickly head for the exit, hoping that outside they would find a way to escape the doom that would soon claim their would-be foes.  
  
**TO BE CONTINUED**


	16. Chapter 15

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Chapter 15  
  
  
  
The four heroes exited the castle. Looking around, they could see that the Yuggoth bomb was indeed ruthless. The whole place was dissolving, coming apart at the pixels. And it was happing fast.  
  
"There's the barrier!" shouted Henry, pointing across the de-compiling landscape.  
  
"But it's too far now! We'll never make it time!" cried Rika. Indeed, at the rate things were disintegrating, it didn't seem like they had any chance of escape. Just then, Calumon came running by.  
  
"Ohhhh, this game's no fun any more!"  
  
A strange kind of vortex suddenly appeared before our heroes. The equally strange Calumon made no hesitation jumping into the vortex.  
  
"Well there's something ya don't see everyday!" Terriermon exclaimed.  
  
"What the heck is that thing?" inquired Rika.  
  
"A way out of here!" Henry said. He began to move towards the vortex when Rika grabbed his arm.  
  
"Wait a minute!" she said. "How do you know that thing's gonna take us back to the real world? What if it sends us somewhere else?"  
  
Suddenly, the castle behind them completely collapsed and disintegrated. The destruction was growing closer.  
  
"In a few seconds," Henry replied, "anywhere will be better than here!"  
  
Rika looked back at Renamon. The fox Digimon nodded her head. Rika then looked down at Terriermon, who just gave a little shrug.  
  
"Hey don't look at me, I'm just the comic relief!"  
  
"Alright then," said Rika, her mind made up, "…let's do it."  
  
The two tamers and two Digimon all jumped in at the same time. The vortex disappeared, just as everything else did.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  
"Henry? Henry, wake up!"  
  
Henry opened his eyes and found himself staring right into the purple eyes of Rika.  
  
"Huh? Whoa, what happened?"  
  
"It worked Henry," answered Rika, "we made it back!"  
  
Henry got up off the grass to have a good look at his surroundings. He was standing in Rika's backyard, right where it all started.  
  
"We made it…" Henry said to himself. "Wait, where's Terriermon?"  
  
"Over here Henry!" Henry turned to his left to see Terriermon standing along side Renamon.  
  
"Terriermon!" Henry cried with relief. "You made it back too!"  
  
"Yep, we're all smiles over here!" Terriermon said, looking up at Renamon. The fox Digimon just sighed and shook her head. Just then, Takato and Guilmon came running in.  
  
"Sorry we're late. We only just saw the Digital Field a few minutes ago. It looks like you guys took care of it though. So uh… what'd we miss?"  
  
Henry and Terriermon couldn't help but start laughing at that statement. Even Rika, who hadn't laughed in the longest time, joined in. As they were in hysterics, Takato and Guilmon just stood there looking completely clueless.  
  
"Something tells me we missed a lot, Takatomon!"  
  
**TO BE CONCLUDED**


	17. Conclusion

****

Henrika: A Tale of Two Tamers  
  
Conclusion  
  
  
  
"Come in Yamaki! Yamaki, do you read me?" Tally continued trying to radio her boss from the cockpit of the helicopter. She had been at it for almost an hour.  
  
"Riley, if you're there, please respond!" But no response came. The only thing that Tally got was static and lots of it. Finally, she realised why no one was responding; there was no one there to respond.  
  
"They're gone," Tally sadly said to herself. "They didn't make it out in time."  
  
A tear trickled down from Tally's eye. Realising there was no longer any reason for her to be there, she turned the chopper around and headed back to base.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  
It was the middle of the night. Henry and Rika were in the park, sitting on the same bench as they had before. Both of them had been thinking a lot about the events they had experienced that day. After all, this wasn't like any adventure they had been on before.  
  
"So what do you think Antylamon was really planning to use you for?" Henry asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," Rika replied. "During the battle, I heard him yell out 'political puppet'. Of course, we'll never know for certain now. He's been wiped out and terminated. I say good riddance to bad data. …No offence to Terriermon, of course. I mean, I know he was his brother and all but…"  
  
"That's alright. Terriermon's starting to realise he came from a very dysfunctional family. In fact, Terriermon is the only one from his lineage who isn't evil so ironically, _he's_ the black sheep!"  
  
Henry then looked at his watch. He could see that it was starting to get late.  
  
"Speaking of Terriermon," Henry continued, "I really should be getting home now before Suzie decides she wants to play 'makeover'!"  
  
"Yeah, I should be getting home too," Rika agreed. "My mom's gonna wonder where I was and why I wasn't there to try on whatever ghastly new 'outfit' she's bought me!"  
  
The two tamers got up from the bench. They were about to leave, however, Rika looked as though there was still one other thing on her mind.  
  
"Something else you wanted to say?" Henry inquired.  
  
"Well, actually… yeah. I just can't stop thinking about what happened to Yamaki and that woman, Riley."  
  
"Yeah, I know. He may have been prejudice towards all Digimon, but even Yamaki didn't deserve to be wiped out of existence like that."  
  
"That's not what I mean. Riley could've escaped with us but instead she decided to stay. She gave up her life just so that the man she cared about wouldn't have to die alone. I've never seen anyone do something like that before."  
  
"I guess that _was_ pretty noble of her. I use to think stuff like that only happened in movies or fanfics. Apparently, there _is _still chivalry in this world."  
  
"Well after seeing that, I've been wondering."  
  
"Wondering what?"  
  
"Wondering if I would ever be noble enough to do something like that for a guy. If I was in that kind of situation, I'm not sure whether or not I could make the same choice Riley did."  
  
"Hopefully, you'll never have to make that kind of choice. Hopefully, you'll get to live a long and healthy life with whoever you eventually end up with."  
  
"And just what makes you so sure I'm going to end up with someone?" Rika asked in a stern voice. "I don't even have a boyfriend and I doubt that I ever will."  
  
"Because having a boyfriend would spoil your image and make Rika Nonaka look soft?"  
  
"No, because I don't think you would ever have the guts to ask me out on a date." With those words, Rika smiled and gave Henry a little kiss on the cheek. Rika then turned around and began to walk home.  
  
"Of course if you ever _do_ develop a backbone, you know how to find me," Rika added, pausing for a moment before continuing on her way. Henry just stood there speechless. He placed one hand on his cheek as he watched Rika walk off into the darkness of the night.  
  
"See you around Rika!" Henry called out, finally getting his senses back together. He couldn't tell if Rika had heard him, but he would assume that she did. Besides, there would be other times talk to her. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and, if all went well, possibly the beginning of something… even more beautiful.  
  
**THE END… OR MERELY A BEGINNING?**


End file.
